Here is the tweet that started it all: https://twitter.com/socrates1024/status/852917652104380416

Here you can download the paper from a Google server, because the link in the tweet does not work: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B59AisMv54waZXRhbE9GV2NDQUE/view

The reply from camp Monero boils down to "We've been aware of it for long, we are working on it" followed by a barrage of insults and questioning of motives and integrity of the researchers who even suggested ways to improve Monero.

The reason the link in the tweet doesn't work at the time of this writing is a DDoS attack. The website http://www.monerolink.com/ has the tagline:

"Revealing the hidden linkages in the Monero blockchain."

Judge for yourself...

What does this have to do with Dash?

Monero supporters have been attacking Dash for years with unproven claims of Dash's PrivateSend feature being "broken". In the past I have explained in detail how PrivateSend works and how insignificant the chances of it being traced are.

No one has ever managed to de-anonymize a single PrivateSend transaction and not for lack of trying.

I raise attention to the fact that many people have been duped into believing that Dash's privacy feature is inferior to other systems, when nothing could be further from the truth. This being Monero's first, last and only selling point (Dash has a myriad of other features besides just anonymity) the issue is being played down with huge efforts right now and I expect a major backlash on this thread but if anything, this research paper shows that ring signatures are not a solid method for privacy despite perpetual claims to the contrary.

The irony of this whole affair with DASH being the subject of constant FUD ("broken privacy") cannot be overstated.

Edit:

The reactions so far have been a lot of hand waving from those who accused Dash of insufficient privacy. The main takeaway here is that Monero transactions from 2014 - 2016 will forever remain linkable on the Monero blockchain. The fix for this was to increase bloat through RingCT making Monero even less scalable. This, however does not help those who relied on Monero being private in these years. Let's hope nobody made life or death transactions with XMR during that timeframe.

Dash DarkSend/PrivateSend transactions from 2014 up unitl today remain as private as ever. Monero's privacy merely caught up with Dash regarding security.